Pizza Slices and Game Controllers
by Dare2dream00
Summary: The turtles are bickering, surprise. Splinter decides to have them do a training exercise to teach them how to understand to respect one another. Turtle Tots. One-shot. No crack, no slash etc. Set in the 2k3 series.


**TMNT(c) Viacom/Mirage/Nick **

**Turtle Tots! :D **

**Enjoy! **

**xxxxxx**

"Hey, Raph!" Michelangelo shouted in protest, pout on his face. "That was my slice!"

"It's mine now, ya weenie," Raphael said, holding the slice out of his brother's reach, yanking on his bandanna in the process.

"Mikey, just let him have it," Leonardo said, putting a hand on the orange clad turtle's shell.

"Yeah," Donatello agreed, taking a drink of milk. "You've already had like half the pizza."

"But I was saving _that _one for last," Mikey whined, "Because it's the _biggest._"

"Exactly," Raph said, sticking his tongue out before taking a giant bite. "Biggest piece for the biggest turtle."

Donatello laughed, snatching the piece away from Raph and taking a bite himself. "Biggest?" he asked. "I'm taller than you, Raphie."

"We all know that when we grow up I'm gonna be the biggest. Give it!" Raph grunted and tried to snatch the piece back, but Leo took it from Donny's grasp and jumped up onto his chair.

"Yeah. The biggest head!" Leo laughed, taking a bite. His comment earned a bark of laughter from Don.

"Guys-" Mikey whined, before being cut off by a very red-faced Raph.

"You take that back, you shell-for-brains!" Raph said.

"Make me!" Leo taunted, waving the half eaten piece in front of his face.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Don yelped, diving to the side as Raph yelled, tackling Leo off of his chair. The two young turtles fell to the ground, but Leo still held the slice of pizza tightly. The two wrestled roughly, hitting known pressure points and trying to get the upper hand. Leo kicked Raph in the plastron, to which Raph responded by flipping Leo over, wrestling the pizza out his hands. Unfortunately, the commotion sent the piece flying.

Four pairs of eyes followed the flying pizza, then all the turtles let out a gasp as it hit its target.

Their father, smack dab in the middle of his face.

"Oh, shell," Raph whispered from where he was situated, on top of a gaping Leo.

Master Splinter took a deep breath, removing the slice from the middle of his face and walked over to the trashcan, throwing it away. He stayed silent for an agonizingly long time, looking at his turtles. The rat's tail flicked impatiently, waiting for someone to make a move. The four turtles stared at him.

Leo recovered the quickest and shoved Raph off of him and scrambled up into a hasty bow. "Sensei," he said, "We can explain…"

"Well, I should certainly hope so." Splinter said, inclining his head for his son to begin. Leo bit his lip, looking at his brothers for help.

"It was Raph's fault!" Mikey said suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at the red clad turtle, who sat up indignantly.

"My fault!?" he said.

"You're the one who stole Mikey's piece of pizza," Donny said thoughtfully, swinging his legs off his chair.

"Because he was hogging the entire pizza!" Raph yelled in defense. "And Leo called me dumb!" he accused, trying to divert the trouble to someone else.

"I did not!" Leo shouted, hands on his hips. "I said you would have the biggest head!"

"Which means what?" Raph challenged.

"It means you're conceited," Don chimed in. "To say you would have a thick head would make you dumb."

"See?" Leo said.

Mikey laughed. "Maybe you shoulda called him thick headed, Leo!"

"_Enough._"

The bickering immediately stopped, and the four looked at their Sensei warily.

"Dojo, immediately," Splinter said. They all hesitated. "Now!" he ordered, wrapping his cane on the hard concrete of the lair. The turtles yelped and jumped up, rushing to the dojo. Once inside, they kneeled on their designated mats warily.

"Do you think he's going to make us do katas?" Donny whispered to Mikey. Mikey's face fell.

"I sure hope not," he whispered back. "I'm still sore from the last ones. "

The two's speculations were interrupted when Master Splinter came in, standing before them.

"We're sorry Master Splinter," Leo said quietly, bowing his head.

Splinter inclined his head to acknowledge his son's apology, before knocking his cane on the floor twice.

"It is clear to me that you do not appreciate what each one of you brings to this team." he said, looking at the turtles. Each of them looked up at him before looking at each other. "To be a great ninja, you need to understand your teammates." Splinter paused, making sure that his sons were paying attention. "You must also not only have a mastery of your chosen weapon, but must have an understanding of your team's weapons. So today, my turtles, we shall have a demonstration. You shall be using each other's weapons."

There were murmurs of confusion and objection, but none of them spoke up. They knew that what Splinter said, goes. Especially since that they were in trouble. Tentatively, Mikey raised his hand.

"Yes, Michelangelo?"

"Sensei, can we pick which weapon we have to train with?" He asked curiously, eyes wide.

Splinter nodded his head. "You will be training with a weapon that is not your own, to understand how it, and its owner, impacts this team." He explained. "Now, stand up and retrieve a weapon."

The four turtles got up and walked over to the weapons rack.

"This is dumb." Raph muttered. "I don't need ta know anyone else's weapon ta kick butt."

"Raphael," Splinter called, evidence of a smile in his voice. "You will start with the katana, Leonardo's weapons."

Raph muttered something under his breath but sighed deeply, picking up the swords. Leo sucked in a nervous breath when he saw Raph pick them up, to which Raph responded with a smirk.

"Relax, I ain't gonna break 'em." he said. Leo sighed and picked up Donny's bo staff. Donatello picked up Raph's sai. Mikey and Donny switched then, so that Don was handling Mikey's nunchucks, and Mikey had Raph's sai. After they all had a different weapon from their own, they returned to their position in front of Splinter, except this time, they were standing.

"Now," Splinter said, "How does each feel?"

"Wrong." Mikey said immediately, twirling the sai in his hands carefully. The three others nodded in agreement. "How do I whack with these?"

"It's like," Don said, trying to articulate his words, "It feels weird. I don't know what to do with the wobbly parts that aren't in my hand." he said, shrugging apologetically at Mikey, who shrugged in return. "They just kind of hang there. "

"It doesn't feel like an extension of myself," Leo piped up, gripping the staff firmly, taking a step forward.

Raph made a face behind Leo's back, but he nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he agreed, "I can't twirl these, they're too long."

Master Splinter nodded thoughtfully at their answers. "I understand," he said. "However, it is important to be able to use other weapons just as effectively as your own. If you are in battle, and lose your weapon, but have your brother's next to you, you must be able to utilize it." he explained. "Now, Leonardo. Show me 'what you've got'." he said.

Leo nodded warily. "You want me to attack you?" Splinter nodded. "With a weapon I'm not familiar with?" he clarified. Again, Splinter nodded. "Okaaay…" he trailed off. Then, he let out a war cry, bo staff firmly grasped, and attacked the older rat. He went for a side swipe to the ribs, and Master Splinter dodged it easily. Leo countered with a jab of the bow, which Splinter dodged as well, taking his cane and twisting the weapon away from the young turtle, sending it crashing to the floor about five feet away.

"What did you do wrong?" Splinter asked, Leo looked up at him at a loss, because he wasn't sure.

"You were trying to use it like a katana," Donny said softly, "not a bo."

Splinter nodded appreciatively. "Exactly. These are different weapons, my turtles, you must treat them as such." he explained. "Raphael, you are next."

"Please be careful," Leo whispered, almost to himself.

Raph rolled his eyes and gripped the swords at his sides, before charging at Splinter, arms wide and loose. Splinter side stepped and spun Raph out, knocking the back of his knees with his cane, making Raph fall to ground. "What was just discussed?" Splinter asked carefully.

"Don't treat it like your own weapon." Raph grumbled, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Donatello," Splinter said, nodding his head to Donny, who nodded. He walked up and spun Mikey's nunchucks carefully, testing their weight.

"Equal…" Don said softly, looking up at Splinter, then back down at the weapons in his hands. He nodded, then took a running start at his Sensei. Before he got there, he leapt in the air and attempted to strike the rat. However, Donny was holding the nunchucks at the wrong end of the handle, sending the weapons sailing out of his grasp. Splinter was quick, deflecting the rouge nunchucks as Don landed, red and embarrassed.

"Good attempt, my son," Splinter praised, to which Donny flushed. "You attempted to use them not as a bo, but as they are." He nodded. "Michelangelo, you are next."

Mikey nodded, biting his lip as he twirled Raph's sai carefully. He had been lucky to go last, because now he knew that he had to think differently. He twirled the weapons around again, before deciding on them with the blades of the sai facing inward toward himself, while the butt of the sai were outward. He gripped them tightly, and charged. He jumped and tried to nail Splinter in the side of the face, which Splinter blocked with his cane. Without missing a beat, Mikey came up and jabbed with his other hand, and the other sai. Splinter dodged that one as well, but not without a grunt of mild surprise.

"Excellent, Michelangelo," Splinter said, as Mikey straightened up, large grin on his face. He bowed.

"Thanks, Master!"

Splinter straightened up and resisted the urge to pop his back. Maybe he was getting too old for demonstrations. He smiled at his turtles, who were sitting in their respective spots, waiting for him to speak.

"My sons," he said. "What have we learned?" he asked. "That we need to learn to use each other's weapons and…?"

"That we need to respect each other," Leo said.

"And that we can't always do what the others do," Raph chimed in.

"And that sometimes we need to take a step back?" Mikey offered. Splinter nodded.

"We all bring something, and we can learn from each other," Donny finished, glancing at Mikey "And we work better as a team,"

Master Splinter nodded in satisfaction. "Good," he said, wrapping his cane on the floor. "Dismissed." The four turtles hopped up and left the dojo, going to the living room, presumably to play video games. Splinter smiled after them, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment of peace.

"Raph, that's my controller!"

"It's my turn to play, weenie!"

"Don't call me that, barf breath!"

Splinter's ear twitched and he sighed in resignation.

Children.


End file.
